Girl
by The Last Kunoichi
Summary: A father's love can be shown in many ways, but Ciara just didn't understand at the time.


**A/N: Hi everyone. This is my first shot at a Harry Potter fanfic, so I'm sorry if it isn't as good as some other HP fanfics you've read. There used to be a full story to accompany this one shot, but my computer crashed, and I unfortunately lost it. I tried to put in as much background information from the story into this one shot so that you aren't sitting at the computer screen going "0.0 wtf?" Lol, anyway I tried my best. Enjoy!**

Girl

Ciara ran about the school's grounds. She passed frightened students, she stepped over stunned and wounded bodies, she may have even sped by a few Death Eaters engaged in battle with a teacher or another adult. Panic seized her body, forcing her to run faster. Her breaths were loud and ragged, racked with sobs. Her heart slammed against her chest, threatening to burst from her body. Half blinded by tears, the terrified fourteen year old girl dashed passed the gamekeeper's flaming house. She whipped her head around wildly, searching for her only sign of safety and comfort.

_Where is he? Where is he? Where is he? _she wondered. Her school robes billowed behind her. Strands of long black hair clung to her tear streaked face. She grasped her wand, ready to hex anyone who dared to harm her. She convinced herself that she was going to be okay, that she would make it out alive. All she had to do was find him first.

Dragging her sleeve across her eyes, Ciara wiped away her tears and spotted a few figures ahead of her. They ran as fast as she did, away from the school, nearing the castle's gates. In the light provided by the fiery hut behind her, Ciara made out a man in long black robes and black hair running alongside a blond boy and a few other cloaked figures. Her stomach gave a half relieved half alarmed lurch. Relieved that she had finally found him, yet alarmed by his company. Were those Death Eaters intending to hurt him? Not on Ciara's watch.

"Dad!" Ciara pumped her legs faster to catch up with her father. "Dad! Wait!"

The black haired man whipped his head around to see who was calling for him. He stopped running, turned on his heel, and began to march towards Ciara. As she neared him, Ciara soon discovered his face showed neither relief to see her unharmed or concern for her safety. His jaw was clenched, his eyebrows pulled down nearer to his black eyes which were blazing in the fire's light. He was angry. Very angry.

Ciara continued to run for him regardless. "Dad! I-"

_Bang! _Ciara was knocked off her feet and flew backwards, landing hard on the ground. She was winded and began coughing, holding her breast bone where the spell had hit her. She raised her head to see her father holding up his wand, glaring at her. Ciara's mouth fell open. _He _had jinxed her?

She sat up and tried to scramble to her feet. "Dad," she coughed. "What are-"

_Bang! _Back on the ground again. Before Ciara could try to sit up again, a pale face loomed over her, long greasy hair falling into those angry eyes. Ciara moved her mouth soundlessly, at a loss of words. Her father pointed the tip of his wand at her nose.

"Back to the castle, Ciara," he ordered, slowly and emphatically. "_Now._"

Ciara propped herself up on her elbows and tried to fathom exactly what was going on. "But-but, Dad, what about the Death Eaters in there? And-"

"Dad? _Dad?_" A dark haired woman standing near Ciara's father repeated loudly. She glanced at the girl on the ground with a mix of disgust and confusion while she asked, "What are you calling him that for?" She turned to Ciara's father. "This ugly little thing _yours_, Snape?"

Ciara blinked in puzzlement at the woman Death Eater. How did she know her father's name?

As she sat up, Ciara watched as a tall, burly, hairy man with long nails and sharp, yellow teeth leered at her. An intimidating sort of desire that the girl couldn't quite place flickered in his horrible eyes.

"You never said anything about having a kid," he said to Snape, but never taking his eyes off of Ciara. The man grinned wolfishly as a small stream of saliva ran down his chin. "With Dumbledore gone, and this girl here... It must be my lucky day..."

Ciara stared at the hulking man, fear paralyzing her. She didn't know what he wanted to do to her, but she found she couldn't move out of his way. Thankfully, before she could try to force her muscles to work, her father stepped between the two, serving as Ciara's safety barrier.

"You don't touch her," Snape snapped at the man. "We have done has what needed to be done, and now we are to leave as instructed before the Ministry get here. Unless you want to cause the Dark Lord unnecessary trouble, it would be in your best interest to leave the girl be and kill another night."

The man glared angrily at Snape, but did not try to push him away or lunge for Ciara. As Snape and the man stood frozen where they were, daring the other to move, the dark haired woman let out a shrill laugh.

"I never thought I'd see the day!" she cackled. She turned to Snape, who had become a furious statue. "Got a soft spot for the little girly, do you? Why is that? Is it because she's really yours? Why didn't you tell us you had a little brat of your own? Oh, here's a novel idea, why don't we take her with us? I'm sure she could keep Draco company..."

As the Death Eater woman continued to jeer, Ciara gaped in horror at her father. How did he know these people? Why _they_ know _him_? Why was he planning to leave? An unthinkable possibility crossed Ciara's mind, and panic took a hold of her by the throat and began to choke her. She refused to believe it.

"Dad, what's going on?" She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could before she could be hit with another spell. "Why do you hex me? Where-"

Snape held his wand level with Ciara's face. His angry expression matched his cold tone. "Go back to castle, girl. Go now, and don't make me do anything I will sorely regret." His voice was laden with sarcasm as he spoke the last few words.

Ciara gasped, hurt. He had not called her 'girl' since her first year at Hogwarts. That first year was a rough one. Both of them found out their blood ties to each other, and Snape was less than willing to let Ciara into his life. Calling her by her first name was out of the question, and he refused to address her with their shared surname. He had only called her 'girl' for the most part of that year. After resolving inner conflict within each other and discovering the truth behind why exactly Ciara existed, Snape had finally called her by her given name and slowly but surely began to treat her like a daughter.

_So why is he acting like he did in my first year? _the girl wondered, distressed.

Snape turned to the Death Eaters and nodded towards the castle's walls. "We're leaving." He turned on his heel, and began to run with the others towards Hogwart's gates, but Ciara propelled herself forward and managed to grab a hold of Snape's long black cloak before stumbling and nearly falling onto the ground.

"What are you doing!?" she shrieked. "Why are you going with them!? What about-"

"Get off!" Snape whirled around and shoved Ciara off of him. She stumbled backwards, horrified as her father raised his wand threateningly over her head again. "Back to the castle now! I'm not dealing with you anymore. Go before I-"

The possibility that had crossed Ciara's mind a few minutes earlier resurfaced from where she had repressed it, and the reality of the situation took over.

"You're with them! You're with them!" she shrieked, pointing her wand at the Death Eaters. Betrayal wrenched her heart from her chest and tore it in two before her eyes, launching her into hysteria. Ciara dropped her wand, a very foolish thing to do when surrounded by Voldemort's followers, and assailed her father with her fists and screams.

"Howcouldyouhowcouldyouhowcouldyou!?" The hitting didn't last long, for Snape seized his daughter's wrists and forced her to back up. However, that did not stop Ciara's screaming. "Why are you with them!? How could you do this!? All my friends had their suspicion, but I never believed them! I hate you! I hate you! I-"

"Ciara," Snape growled, throwing her back. His face was livid, his upper lip curling back. A face that would usually frighten Ciara and make her apologize immediately had no effect on her this time.

"Why are you one of _them_? What about me?! What about..." A fresh wave of tears spilled from Ciara's eyes and a painful shout ripped itself from her throat. "_Is this what my mum would have wanted!? _She was a muggle born, you loved her, how could you possibly be on _his _side-?"

Ciara's head was turned to one side as white hot pain ignited itself upon her right cheek. The blow nearly knocked her to the ground. Cupping her swollen red cheek, Ciara stared horrified at her father. No use of a wand had played a part in hurting her. Snape's face was contorted beyond recognition with rage as he held his hand in the air, above his head.

Ciara began to whimper. He had backhanded her. Never, not even during that hard first year, had Snape ever dealt her any physical harm. The blow did not pain Ciara has much as Snape's intention to hurt her did, and yet, there was not a trace of remorse or apology upon his face. He walked up to her, grabbed her by the scruff of her robes, and held her so that he could talk quietly into her ear, out of ear shot of the other Death Eaters.

"The mudblood bore me a stupid child," he hissed at her. "If you intend to follow me or speak to me again, I will not hesitate to kill you." He dropped her on the ground and gazed upon her as a king would at a lowly beggar. "You are worth nothing to me."

Ciara remained on the ground, clutching her cheek as her father and the other Death Eaters ran off towards the gates. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to breathe. She felt dizzy, sick to her stomach. She had been struck and threatened with death by her own father, yet the last statement he made before leaving cut the deepest into her heart.

_You are worth nothing to me._

Ciara curled up in a little ball and cried. She didn't get up to head towards the safe castle. In fact, she didn't care if she suddenly died there on the ground. What did it matter now? Even though she had avoided death by an Unforgivable curse, her father had already killed her.

--

Snape ran alongside Draco and the other Death Eaters. Trying to be as subtle as he could, the Potions master spared one glance over his shoulder at his hurt daughter whom he left curled up on the ground.

In spite of what he told Ciara, he regretted all that had just happened. Did he want Ciara to find him in the company of Voldemort's followers? No. He did not want to yell at her, strike her, call her deceased mother a mudblood. Most of all, he did not mean what he said by telling her she was worth nothing to him. But he had no choice. Ciara was a stubborn, immature little thing that could be very simple at times (the very reason she was sorted into Hufflepuff). The only way to ensure her safety was to drive her away from him. It was a last resort that Snape never wanted to do to his daughter.

The other Death Eaters had no idea he was a father. Snape always knew that if they did, Ciara would be put in grave danger. They could try to persuade her to join them, use her, cause her harm, and even use her to make Snape do what they (or the Dark Lord) wanted. Snape had already lost all of the significant women in his life, including Lily and his child's mother, Siobhan. He refused to let Ciara become entangled in the same web as he was.

He turned his head back around to face the way ahead of him, trying to forget what he had just done. Perhaps one day, Ciara would fully understand.


End file.
